


there must be something in the kool-aid

by overtures



Series: doom days [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Other characters are mentioned but do not appear - Freeform, Post-Spider-Man: Far From Home, Social Media, media fic, the mj/peter is implied and very little
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-27 20:54:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19797589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overtures/pseuds/overtures
Summary: (contains FFH spoilers)The Daily Bugle @DailyBugleNYWATCH: Shocking new video shows hero Mysterio’s final words - and a warning against Spider-Man bug.le/7dAD1KCNN Breaking News @cnnbrkNew York vigilante Spider-Man’s identity revealed as Queen’s local Peter Parker cnn.it/F83Hg1New York Post @nypostEverything we know about Peter Parker, the man behind the Spider-Man mask trib.al/f92xf9





	there must be something in the kool-aid

**Author's Note:**

> this fic contains spoilers for spider-man: far from home. you have been warned

**The Daily Bugle** @DailyBugleNY **  
** WATCH: Shocking new video shows hero Mysterio’s final words - and a warning against Spider-Man bug.le/7dAD1K

**CNN Breaking News** @cnnbrk **  
**New York vigilante Spider-Man’s identity revealed as Queen’s local Peter Parker cnn.it/F83Hg1

**New York Post** @nypost   
Everything we know about Peter Parker, the man behind the Spider-Man mask trib.al/f92xf9

  
  


**_Spider-Man: Vigilante or Villain?_ ** **_  
_ ** **Alice Gleason for The Daily Bugle**

Earlier this week, the world watched in horror as monstrous creatures formed out of the elements to wreak havoc in Europe and South America. Horror, which quickly morphed into confusion as the final ‘Elemental’ seemed to flicker and shift in and out of existence while terrorizing the citizens of London. New York’s Spider-Man was spotted in this final battle, alongside a seemingly new hero called ‘Mysterio’ (named so by the local Italian news after he was seen fighting a water-based Elemental in Venice, days before the attack on London).

Now, however, new footage has been released, seemingly depicting Mysterio’s final moments as he succumbs to wounds obtained while fighting the monster over the Tower Bridge. But that’s not all that the shocking video contains. With heart-wrenchingly laboured breaths, Mysterio looks into the camera, and gives us one final warning.

This warning is not about the Elementals. It is about the masked man himself, Spider-Man.

[Click to Read More]

  
  


**Trending in New York ・** Change

Spider-Man

Mysterio

Peter Parker

  
  


**Fox News Alert** @foxnewsalert   
All the facts about Spider-Man’s drone strike against civilians fxn.ws/g93wb

**Pepper Potts** @PepperPotts  
Stark Industries is currently not available to comment with regards towards Spider-Man’s identity. We will release a formal statement later clarifying the situation, and we thank you for your consideration during this time. -PP

  
  


**_from: ned_ ** __   
_ peter  _ __   
_ where r u? _ __   
_ call me when u can  _ _   
_ __ but get somewhere safe first pls

**_from: may_ ** ****_  
_ _ WHERE ARE YOU _ __   
_ STAY INSIDE OR AWAY FROM CROWDS PLEASE _ __   
_ call Happy please please sweetie _ _   
_ __ I love you so much call me when you are safe

**_from: mj_ ** ****_  
_ _ i trust u. do what u need to _ _   
_ _ i’ll be here _

**_from: happy_ ** ****_  
_ _ I’m here for you if you need me to pick you up. _ _   
_ _ I’m so sorry, kiddo _

**_from: pepper potts_ ** ****_  
_ _ Peter, I’m so sorry _ __   
_ Call me or happy when you are safe to do so _ __   
_ SI will handle this, I’m on the phone with my lawyer right now _ _   
_ __ Stay safe, kid

**_from: ned_ ** __   
_ im here for u buddy. _ _   
_ __ call or text so i know ur safe

**_from: flash thompson_ ** ****_  
_ _ BRO WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS TRUE????? _ __   
_??>>/]}?>???>? _ _   
_ __????????????????????????

**_from: Unknown Number_ ** **_  
_ ** _ Get ready. Play along. NF _

**_from: may_ ** ****_  
_ _ peter where are you. please call me or happy or pepper or anyone _ _   
_ _ we’re worried _

**_from: brad_ ** ****_  
_ _ yo, parker, have you seen the news? _ _   
_ _ this shit isn’t real lol right _

  
  


-

  
  


It was a good thing that Peter didn’t have any big plans for the rest of the summer, because he was pretty sure that being kept at a secure-but-sketchy government facility in an undisclosed location for an undetermined amount of time wouldn’t really be conducive to any major events he might’ve had previously organized.

“Can I have my phone back?” he asks.

The guard at the door looks at him for a moment but says nothing.

Peter sighs. 

The AC hums.

One of the strip LED lights on the ceiling flickers for a brief moment. It is the most exciting thing to happen in the two hours that Peter has been in the room.

He keeps himself from sighing again, but he does slump over onto the cold table in front of him, pressing his face into the hard surface of the resin tabletop. He’s just so  _ bored _ . He knows he’s probably in shock right now, but a part of him wishes that he was freaking out just so he would have something to  _ do _ . He’s been in this room for two hours already, and he hasn’t had his phone for any of the time he’s been here. God knows how many texts and missed calls he’s going to have once he gets it back. He shudders at the thought - or maybe just because the room is, like, weirdly cold. That AC must be working overtime, he thinks.

He frowns. He knows that wherever she is, May is freaking out enough for the both of them. Ned is probably also freaking out as well, and also probably getting a lot of calls and texts from practically everyone who knows the two of them. He hopes they try and stay calm and talk to Pepper and Happy, but he’s worried about the two of them. Why wouldn’t he be? Anyone who knows Peter Parker knows that they’re the two people he’s closest to.

And he’s worried about MJ as well. After all, they had been seen together literal seconds before the newscast was shown in Times Square. He knows that MJ can handle herself, and that she would probably be pissed if she knew he was worrying about her safety when he’s currently killing time in the sub-basement of some shady government building after being “exposed” as an evil villain to all of New York (and the entire rest of the world), but still, what if something happened to her and it was all Peter’s fault? 

Because it would be Peter’s fault in the end, wouldn’t it. This was why he had never told anyone about his identity, because he knows that everyone who knows about it is in danger just by virtue of existing in proxy to him. Like, Mysterio had nearly  _ killed _ MJ and Ned and the rest of his class back in London, and for all his drones and tech, at the end of the day he was just one guy calling the shots. Who knows what the whole of New York would do to the people that he cared about him if they realized the connection between them.

...Now he’s starting to freak out. He’s not having a panic attack, at least he doesn’t think he is, but honestly he might be. He’s certainly not thinking rationally at this point. New York isn’t going to lynch mob a group of teenagers just because they happen to be classmates and friends with Spider-Man, right? 

_ Right? _

But before Peter can spiral too far into his panic, the door to the room opens. He looks up, startled by the sudden noise, and just as he lifts his head Nick Fury walks in. The guard takes one look at Fury and steps out of the room, shutting the door.

Peter doesn’t blame them. 

“Mr. Parker,” Fury says. “I’d say it’s good to see you again, except it isn’t. My, have you gotten yourself into some deep shit.”

“I -” Peter sputters. “I didn’t - this wasn’t my fault!”

Fury pulls out the chair across the table from Peter and sits down, and he somehow manages to make the mundane action seem vaguely threatening. The sound of the chair being dragged along the floor is almost painfully loud compared to the quietness surrounding them. “Of that, I am undoubtedly certain.” He sighs, and looks intently at Peter. His voice is low when he speaks. “Mysterio and his team were masters of illusion. But unfortunately for us, Beck’s skill in making people believe what he wanted them to believe in extended beyond creating monsters out of drones and holograms.”

Peter swallows. “How bad is it,” he says softly.

“Bad,” Fury replies bluntly. “But we’ll fix it.”

“Okay, but how?” Peter shakes his head. He can’t see any feasible way that they could possibly negate the effects of that video, and he’s had two hours to do nothing but think on it. “I - everyone saw me in that video, they saw my face, you can’t get rid of that. They’re always gonna know I’m Spider-Man.”

“Oh, no, we’re not fixing that. That’s a lost cause. But you being viewed as the bad guy, as someone who ordered a drone strike on civilians,  _ that _ we can change.”

Peter opens his mouth to speak, and closes it. He doesn’t even know what he wants to say. His brain is buffering, the words  _ that’s a lost cause _ ringing in his ears. 

His identity is a lost cause. He’s never going to be Peter Parker again. All he had wanted was to just have the chance to be a normal kid, and now he won’t ever get to.

Fury stands up, making the chair screech against the floor. “You’ve got to stay here a bit longer, I’m afraid. Just until we’re certain no one’s going to try and hurt you.”

“Oh - okay.” He takes a shuddering breath. “Can - can you tell Happy - Happy Hogan - that I’m alright, and get him to tell my aunt? Please.”

Fury watches him for a moment, an unreadable expression on his face. “I’ll see what I can do,” he says finally, before turning to walk out the door with a dramatic flourish of his long black trench coat.

The guard steps back into the room, but Peter barely even notices. He’s too busy crying, his face held between his trembling hands as the sound of his sobs bounce off the walls and echo around him, as surrounding and all-consuming as one of Mysterio’s illusions, making him feel just as powerless and scared and alone.

-

**Flash Mob** 💥 @no1spideyfan   
I know Peter Parker. I believe in Spider-Man. #IStandWithSpidey - do you?

**Alice Gleason** @AGleason  
READ my new article for @DailyBugle and you’ll see the truth about Spider-Man. #VigilanteOrVillain bug.le/7dAD1K

**cindy :)** @cindymooon   
#IStandWithSpidey because peter is a teenager and still a hero.

**Charlie Campbell** @CCampbell12   
SPIDERMAN must be CONTROLLED #VigilanteOrVillain

**J Jonah Jameson** @JJonahJameson   
Is Spider-Man a #VigilanteOrVillain ? I think it’s clear. VILLAIN.

**ned leeds** @NedTalks   
#IStandWithSpidey AND YOU SHOULD TO.

**Roger Harrington** @rogerh40021   
Peter is a good kid. #IStandWithSpidey

**Simon** @simonlagrange   
As @AGleason said - how do we know if we can trust Spider-Man? Is he a #VigilanteOrVillain ?

**mj** @whatthemichelle **  
**because we shouldn’t trust a single thing j jonah shameson says. of course #IStandWithSpidey

  
  


**Trending in New York ・** Change

Spider-Man

#VigilanteOrVillain

#IStandWithSpidey

Peter Parker

  
  


**To:** [](mailto:foxtrot@shield.com) foxtrot@sword.com   
**From:** [](mailto:mhill@shield.com) mhill@sword.com   
**Subject:** spidey

I’ve talked with Pott’s lawyers - the plan is to sue the Bugle for libel and spreading of false information. They seem pretty good, she’s got a team - one standout is a certain Matt Murdock, so we’re angling to get him leading the case. Any updates on tracking down more of Beck’s men?

Don’t text me, my phone is glitching right now.

\- MH

  
  


**To:**[ allteachers@midtown.com  
](mailto:allteachers@midtown.com) **From:**[](mailto:morita@midtown.com) morita@midtown.com   
**Subject:** Peter Parker

Hello Midtown teachers and staff,

I assume by now you’ve all seen the news regarding Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Whether or not the allegations against our student are true or not, I understand that it is essential to meet in order to ensure Mr. Parker’s safety in the upcoming school year. As it is summer, and many of you are not available until closer to the start of term, I have decided that we will hold meetings in early August. The exact time and date are yet to be scheduled, but if anyone knows they will be unavailable during this time, please let me know.

On another note, congratulations are in order for Mrs. Winterhalter! Her baby boy was born last Monday, and is healthy and home.

Thank you all,

Principal Morita,   
Midtown School of Science and Technology   
Queens, New York

  
  


**To:** [](mailto:mhill@shield.com) mhill@sword.com   
**From:** [](mailto:foxtrot@shield.com) foxtrot@sword.com   
**Subject:** Re: spidey

Hill - get a new phone. Email? Are you serious? 

Next thing I know you’ll be trying to get me to send sensitive and classified information via carrier pigeon.

  
  


**To:** [](mailto:foxtrot@shield.com) foxtrot@sword.com   
**From:** [](mailto:mhill@shield.com) mhill@sword.com   
**Subject** : Re: Re: spidey

Sorry for prioritizing our current issue over getting a new phone. Email is fine, especially on the new SWORD servers.

Thanks for that idea. Keep your windows open.

\- MH

  
  


**To:** [](mailto:mhill@shield.com) mhill@sword.com   
**From:** [](mailto:foxtrot@shield.com) foxtrot@sword.com   
**Subject:** Re: Re: Re: spidey

Alright, email it is. If our info gets compromised I’ll blame you.

Any chance you could pick Parker up from the facility in a couple of hours? I don’t think he’ll want to see me after I delivered the news. Also, contact his Aunt. She’s probably worried. Take the kid to Safehouse 31. It’s nearby, plus no one will think a New Yorker is hiding out in Jersey.

If I see a single pigeon so much as look at me, you’re fired.

  
  


**To:** [](mailto:foxtrot@shield.com) foxtrot@sword.com   
**From:** [](mailto:mhill@sword.com) mhill@sword.com   
**Subject:** Re: Re: Re: Re: spidey

He’s en route.

And you can’t fire me, Nick. I work for you out of my own goodwill because you’d be lost without me and we both know it. :)

\- MH

  
  


-

  
  


When Peter sees May, four hours later at a safehouse somewhere in Assfuck, New Jersey, he all but collapses into her arms.

“Oh, God,” May breathes. Her voice is soft, but heavy with relief. Peter doesn’t even want to think about how worried she must’ve been in the hours after the newscast when he wasn’t on his phone.

“I’m sorry -”

“Shh, no, you’re okay,” she murmurs, stroking his head. “You’re okay, you’re safe. I’ve got you.”

Peter sniffles. He doesn’t want to cry on May, but he can’t help the tears that spill out of his eyes and fall onto her cardigan. He’s surprised, absently, that he even has tears left in his body. After Fury left him in the room alone, he had basically broken down for what seemed like hours. His throat is sore and raw, and his eyes are bloodshot from all the tears.

“How ‘bout we get inside,” May says softly. “Pepper and Happy are here -”

“What about MJ and Ned?” Peter asks into the knit of May’s cardigan.

“They’re on their way here right now. Happy organized a ride for them.”

“Okay,” Peter says.

“C’mon,” May says, leading Peter inside the house. “There’s a room upstairs that you can sleep in. I bet you’re tired, kiddo.”

He is tired, he realizes. He’s exhausted. If he goes to sleep, he thinks he’ll sleep for days. 

“Wanna see Pepper,” he mumbles.

May shushes him, stroking his forehead and pushing his hair away from his eyes. “She’ll still be here tomorrow. I really think you should sleep.”

If he goes to sleep, he’ll sleep for days. And that’s a problem. He’ll  _ sleep _ , and sleep, for him, means dreams. Means nightmares.

“Don’t wanna.”

“Why not?” May asks. They’re inside now, and she’s leading him towards a staircase. All the lights are off and the house is quiet.

“Dreams.”

May sighs. “Oh, sweetie,” she says. Peter’s told her all about the nightmares he’s been having - after all, sometimes he yells so loudly during them that he wakes her up. She begins leading him up the stairs. “I’ll be right there,” she says, “how ‘bout that? I’ll stay with you until you wake up.”

He wants to say yes, he wants her to be there, but he doesn’t want that guilt to eat at him, too. May’s got enough on her plate as it is, he doesn’t want to burden her with more. “I’ll be fine,” he says, instead of  _ please, don’t leave me alone. I don’t know what I’ll do if I’m by myself _ .

“You sure?”

Peter nods, but doesn’t speak. Anything he says will betray his fears, and he doesn’t want that.

They’re standing in the hallway now, right beside a door that Peter assumes leads to his room. May looks at him, and Peter can see the concern written on her face, plain as day even in the shadows that consume all light in the hallway. “Alright, sweetie. Call me if you need anything, I mean it.”

“I will,” Peter says, voice shaky but loud enough compared to the quiet. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Go to sleep.”

He goes into his room and shuts the door, but he doesn’t sleep. He lies awake on the firm, king-size mattress and watches the shadows move across the plain walls of the room. His breaths are loud against the silence of the night. It’s past midnight, now, and Peter knows that if he stays awake for just a few more hours he’ll be able to see the darkness outside of the window lift as the hazy colours of dawn break across the sky. He wants to stay awake for that, but he’s just so  _ tired. _

It’s not just a mental lethargy due to the lack of sleep. It’s physical, too. It’s like his ribs are tired of holding strong against the wild and unsteady pounding of heart. It’s like his spine is exhausted from carrying all this weight on his shoulders.

He wants to say he feels like he’s been run over by a train, but the hilarious thing is that he knows that’s  _ not _ how he feels, and he knows this because he is acutely aware of the exact feeling of being hit by a train. He knows how the sudden impact jerks you backwards, he knows how the wind whips and tears at your skin as the world rushes around you, and he knows just how every muscle and ligament of your body  _ burns  _ as you get wrenched and twisted in ways humans just shouldn’t experience.

He knows that even after he’s taped his ribs and stitched up all of the cuts on his body, there will still be something left for him to get over. The worst part about the train hitting you isn’t the initial shock and pain and fire in your tendons. It’s the bruising. It’s the re-setting of the broken bones. It’s the cleaning out of the blood from underneath your fingernails and from the tangles in your hair. 

And once the bruises fade and the casts get removed and all the blood is washed off of your body, the only proof you have that the train ever even hit you is your memory of an impact you didn’t get to brace for, and that’s  _ fine _ .

But this pain, this aching that Peter feels in every bone of his body, this isn’t that. Because he  _ has _ proof, now, he has proof of the whole goddamn trainwreck that forms his current state of life, and that  _ hurts _ . The proof is in the tweets and articles and newscasts that he hasn’t seen but know exist. It’s in the hundreds of unanswered texts and missed calls building up on his phone. And with each new piece of proof, each time he’s reminded of the world outside that wants him dead, it feels like a new bone is breaking, like a new cut is opening up on the surface of his skin.

No, this pain that he’s feeling doesn’t hurt like getting hit by a train. And it’s not the sudden, crushing weight of a building crashing down on top of him, either, or the helplessness he felt as every molecule of his being turned to ash. 

It’s all three, at once, happening again and again and again.

This hurts worse than any physical pain he’s ever felt. And he’s been hurting all his life.

And so yeah, he doesn’t want to sleep. He’s fucking terrified of the images that get generated in the back of his consciousness. But at least when he sleeps he isn’t forced to feel this pain coursing through every inch of his body like it’s his goddamn blood. 

He lays there, on top of the duvet and the sheets, still in the baggy clothes given to him back at the facility, closes his eyes, and lets sleep wash over him.

  
  


-

  
  


**chloe 44** @kiwichloe  
ok i know hes supposed to b like a menace towards society or whatever but does anyone else think p*ter p*rker is kinda,,,, cute sldklfjlfg

**meg!!!** @sweetnermeg  
@kiwichloe SIS I KNOW… WHEN I STALKED HIS INSTA I DIED

**jamie #IStandWithSpidey** @yeehawjamie   
@sweetnermeg ...drop his insta @ pleathe

**chloe 44** @kiwichloe   
@sweetnermeg @yeehawjamie ^^^^^^^^

**meg!!!** @sweetnermeg  
@kiwichloe @yeehawjamie SKSFLJFJ it’s @/peterbparker it’s down rn but it used to b public RIP

**jamie #IStandWithSpidey** @yeehawjamie   
@sweetnermeg DAMN IT a fallen soldier… f

**chloe 44** @kiwichloe   
@yeehawjamie @sweetnermeg f

**meg!!!** @sweetnermeg  
@kiwichloe @yeehawjamie f

  
  


**Trending in New York ・** Change

Peter Parker

#IStandWithSpidey

Daily Bugle video fake

#VigilanteOrVillain

  
  


**whatthemichelle** reblogged  **dailyspidey** ****  
**  
** **bbrowne:**

Hey guys, Blaine here. So, as many of you guys know, I intern at the Daily Bugle. Well, I used to. I quit today because of the way they were handling the whole Spidey identity reveal situation, and there’s a few things I want to get off my chest about it. This is gonna be a fairly long post, so I’m gonna put the rest of it under the cut, but I think it’s important so please read it :)

[Read More]

Ok so as I’m sure most of you guys know, Spider-man has been outed as a kid named Peter Parker. Notice how I said ‘kid’, that’s because Peter Parker is  _ 16 years old _ . Yeah, you read that right. 16!!! Now, we know he got dusted in the Blip (even if we don’t know how or where he was), so if we do the math right we find that he was  _ 14 years old when he started being a superhero and got involved with Tony Stark _ . That’s  _ insane _ , you guys. My little brother is 14, and I couldn’t picture him becoming a superhero out of his own good will.

_ Yeah, you read that right, I said superhero _ . Because, despite what my former place of employment might try and suggest, Spider-man is 100% a  _ hero _ . Some of my followers might know this, but I took a bunch of courses in video editing back when I thought I wanted to become a filmmaker. The video that the Bugle released has obvious edits and cuts where different footage was either spliced or layered together, and that’s without analyzing it frame-by-frame (which I know a couple of blogs have done, I’ll link them if I find them!). But even without that evidence, I would still think Spidey is a hero, because  _ why wouldn’t I? _ I mean, do we have anything to back up the claim that he ordered a drone strike on civilians? And, like, isn’t it pretty obvious that the Mysterio guy was the one controlling the Elemental-thingys? 

And guys, Spider-man is a  _ teenager _ . He’s not diabolical enough to think up a plan like that. I don’t think he’d even  _ want  _ to be the ‘next Iron Man’. He’s a KID.

So yeah, tl;dr: #IStandWithSpidey because he’s a teenager who’s been put on the worst pedestal imaginable, and I feel sorry that he has to go through this at such a young age.

**CNN Breaking News** @cnnbrk   
Video analyst reveals concerns about the legitimacy of Mysterio’s Spider-man identity reveal broadcast: “It just looks edited, at least to me.” cnn.it/gIh5k1

**The Daily Bugle** @DailyBugleNY   
DISPROVING the claims of manipulation in Spider-man video: bug.le/gu8iKa

**Alice Gleason** @AGleason   
#VigilanteOrVillain Check out this video from @DailyBugleNY bug.le/gu8iKa

**mj** @whatthemichelle   
@DailyBugleNY this video is so dumb you proved nothing. literally negative points were made

**Simon** @simonlagrange   
Does it matter if @DailyBugleNY ‘s video is fake? We know Spider-man is a teenager, it has been proven. I don’t know if I trust a teenager with my safety

**chloe 44** @kiwichloe   
@simonlagrange @DailyBugleNY ok then if spidey tries to save u from a burning building u can just b like “nah im good” . headass.

  
  


-

  
  


Peter wakes up on his own. He isn’t startled into awakeness from a nightmare, and he isn’t awoken by his own screams or May gently shaking him awake. He drifts in the grey space between sleep and consciousness, in that hazy stage where the light leaking in through his eyelids makes colours dance across his vision. He feels fuzzy, as if his brain is being swaddled like a baby in hundreds of blankets, cocooned from the harsh world outside.

Then the other shoe drops, and the moment of tranquillity breaks.  _ Shit _ , he thinks.

He scrambles off of the mattress - did he really sleep on top of the duvet for the whole night? What is wrong with him - and looks around the room for a clock. He finds one on the bedside table (that he hadn’t even realized existed until this very moment), a digital display that says  _ 10:42  _ in green block writing. He hasn’t slept this late in years. Maybe that’s why he feels so off-kilter -

Well, no, that’s not why he feels off-kilter. He feels like that because his whole world was flipped upside-down yesterday and all of society is probably calling for his head on a platter at this very moment.  _ Shit _ is right.

… Is it too late to go back to sleep? He contemplates it seriously for a moment. No one would know, and more importantly, certainly no one would blame him for sleeping all the way through the morning. He definitely still feels tired, so he knows he could for sure get right back to sleep if he really applied himself to the task.

A knock on the door forstalls any further planning. “Peter? You awake? I heard movement,” May says softly, her voice muffled through the wood panelling of the door.

Peter sighs. “Uh, yeah. I’ll be down in a second.”

“Alright, there’s no rush, sweetie.” Her footsteps sound on the carpet as she moves back down the hall.

Peter runs a hand through his hair, wincing when it catches on a tangle. He pads over quietly to a mirror that’s hanging over a wood-paneled dresser. God, he looks like a  _ mess _ . He looks exhausted. The purple blotches under his eye look more like bruises than anything, and the redness surrounding his irises from the hours spent crying only adds to the overall tired look. His hair is a frizzy mess with curls sticking up all over the place, and he spends a brief moment trying to get it to resemble some form of neatness before giving up all together. He looks about as ragged and worn as he feels, actually.

He sighs again. The clothes he’s wearing, a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of joggers, feel sticky and caked with invisible dirt. He’d love to change into literally anything else, except he didn’t get to bring any clothes with him and he has no idea if May grabbed some for him (and if she did, he also doesn’t know where they are). His mouth feels gross, too - he didn’t brush his teeth last night, he realizes - and he runs his tongue over his teeth while wondering exactly how badly his breath must stink.

His stomach grumbles, and it must be a sign. He takes one last look at himself in the mirror, and shakes his head at his reflection.

Time to face the music. He turns away from the mirror, opens the door, and steps down the hallway to the world waiting outside, on baited breath and borrowed time.

He stumbles down the staircase, but before he can reach the landing he gets tackled into a hug that lifts him off of his feet. 

“You’re awake! I was so worried, oh my God, you didn’t answer any of my texts, I was freaking out for the whole night!” Ned exclaims, words fumbling over each other in his excitement. “Well, until Happy came and picked us up -”

“Ned,” Peter wheezes, “can’t - breathe -”

“Oh, sorry man,” Ned says and releases Peter from his vice-like grip.

Peter takes a couple of deep breaths, wincing as his ribs regain feeling. Even though he’s healed over from the train and the fights in Europe, he still feels stiff and achy in certain spots over his body, and his ribs are definitely one area that has him grimacing whenever he moves.

“I’m not hugging you,” MJ says from behind Peter.

He whirls around, and sees her standing in the doorway that leads, he assumes, into the kitchen. “That’s okay. Hi.”

“Hi.”

She looks tired. Ned does too, as much as he possibly can, but MJ looks worn down. Distantly, Peter feels a bit bad that he hadn’t checked his phone, because he knows she probably texted him yesterday and was worried when she didn’t get a response.

It didn’t matter now, though. They were safe, and all three of them were together, which is the important thing.

“Peter!” Pepper exclaims, running into the room. Well, it’s more of a brisk-walk-with-arms-outstretched, but with her long strides it has the same effect. She looks like she’s come straight from a morning filled with meetings, with her hair perfectly straightened and her blazer crisp and sharp. It’s a big contrast to Peter’s current overall rumpled exterior (and interior, he supposes), but he’s gotten used to feeling rumpled next to Pepper, so it’s fine.

She wraps her arms around him in a much softer, yet just as gripping embrace. She squeezes him for a moment, making Peter’s ribs cry just a little bit, before pulling back and holding his shoulders. “Gosh, I am so glad you’re okay.”

“Uh, me too?” Peter says, not entirely certain of what to say.

Pepper smiles. “C’mon, come have some food. I bet you’re hungry,” she says, leading him by the shoulder past MJ to the kitchen. “What do you want to eat? We have - well, there’s pretty much only cereal, but you could always just have lunch now - what time is it anyways?”

“It’s quarter to eleven, Miss Potts,” Ned says, having followed them into the kitchen with MJ.

“Oh, thanks Ned, and I’ve told you to call me Pepper.”

“I’m still not going to, though, no offence.”

Pepper laughs. “None taken. So,” she turns back to Peter, “cereal?”

Peter nods, and she begins to move around the kitchen, gathering all the necessary requirements. Peter takes the moment to look around the room he’s in. For a safe house provided by Nick Fury, this place looks remarkably like a  _ house _ , with a kitchen straight out of a Homesense catalogue and an adjourning living room to boot. He hadn’t really been able to appreciate it last night/this morning when he had stumbled in, due to the nature of it being pitch black outside and he was also a bit distracted at the time, but now he was taking in the granite countertops and coordinating cabinets in all of their IKEA showroom glory.

Footsteps sound in the hallway before May joins them in the kitchen. She says hello to MJ and Ned, who are both leaning against the wall by the fridge, and sits down at the counter beside Peter.

“How are you feeling?” she asks softly.

“Tired,” Peter admits honestly. “Even though I slept for, like, ten hours.”

“That’s to be expected. You went through a lot emotionally yesterday, it makes sense that you need to recover. And that’s not even counting the stress from Europe. I know you haven’t been sleeping well since you got back, so maybe you needed this.”

Peter sniffs. “Maybe,” he says noncommittally. He’s not sure that that’s the case, though. He doesn’t just feel  _ tired _ , he feels like everything is a few degrees off from where it should be. Like that time May and Ned worked together to shift all the furniture in their apartment four inches to the side. Nothing looks particularly out of place, but he has the feeling that if he begins to walk around and navigate this new stage of life, he’s going to stumble and trip over things that aren’t where they should be.

He feels like a glass of water wobbling back and forth on a table after the magician just pulled the tablecloth out from underneath him. He doesn’t know yet whether he’ll manage to steady himself and remain upright, or whether he’ll tumble over and ruin the whole spectacle. But what he does know is that there’s a crowd gathered, watching him sway and the water threaten to spill out over his walls, and either way it turns out, some people will be disappointed in the show.

Pepper sets a bowl down in front of him, tearing him away from his thoughts. She slides a spoon across the counter and says, “Well, I do hope you’ve slept enough, because Nick Fury is on his way as we speak.”

“Oof,” says Ned. “We’ll be going for that -” he cuts off in a wheeze, presumably because MJ dug her elbow into his side. Well, she tried to, but because of their height difference it hit him square in the ribs.

Peter chews his cereal. He’s gotten over his anger at Fury - after all, it’s not really his fault that they can only control the situation so much. But he’s not looking forward to seeing the man again.

“They’re going to help,” Pepper says.

“I’m sure they are,” Peter mutters into his cereal. It tastes just like cardboard as he chokes it down.

  
  


-

  
  


**_from:_** **_liz allan_** _  
_ _Hey Peter, I saw the news. I know you’ve probably got a lot of people contacting you right now, but I wanted to tell you how sorry I am about this whole situation, and take the time to tell you I’ve already forgiven you a long time ago about the whole Homecoming fiasco, but this def helps make some things clearer for me lol._ _  
_ _We should catch up soon (maybe as soon as all the buzz dies down)!_ _  
_ __And just so you know, I’ll always be in your corner.

**_from: betty_ ** ****_  
_ _ Peter, I hope you’re safe! I don’t believe a thing the news is saying. _ __   
_ You’re a really good guy, so please don’t let all the lies get you down. _ _   
_ __ Text me when you get the chance!! :)

**_from: abe_ ** _   
_ _ yo just so you know I ain’t believe shit that the daily bugle says. i stand with u bro _

**_from: flash_ **   
_ we’ve had our differences, but I know ur no bad guy _ _   
_ _ (I started the #IStandWithSpidey trend on twitter, btw. in case ur interested) _

  
  


-

  
  


Fury arrives ten minutes later with Maria Hill in tow. They immediately drag Peter away from his half-finished bowl of cereal and into the living room, where they sit down and launch into a spiel about all of the things they think could help Peter’s Situation. May and Pepper follow them and sit down on the sofa on either side of Peter, and MJ and Ned are hot on their heels. Once Fury and Hill have finished their explanations, conversation erupts around Peter in multiple threads that he can’t try to follow all at once.

He wishes Mr. Stark were here. Whenever Mr. Stark was faced with a problem, it always seemed like he would have a solution ready and gift-wrapped before Peter could even bat an eye. Realistically, Peter knew Mr. Stark wasn’t perfect, but every mistake seemed so easy and simple to fix. Nothing like this tangled mess with layers upon layers that Peter’s dealing with right now.

No, this certainly won’t be easy for Peter to fix. He wonders briefly how quickly Mr. Stark would be able to make all this mess go away. Probably a lot faster than Peter will manage to, in any case.

He remembers one time he had walked into the workshop to see Mr. Stark saying lines of code to a rubber duck that was sitting on the table beside one of the holographic screens.

_ You’re seriously use rubber duck debugging? _ Peter had asked in surprise.

Mr. Stark had looked up at him.  _ Am I a programmer or not? ‘Course I do. Everyone does. _

_ I didn’t realize you made mistakes, _ Peter had said before he could stop himself.  _ Er, well, I knew you made mistakes - not that they’re obvious or anything! - but I hadn’t, well, I dunno - _

_ Easy, kid, don’t break that brain of yours. And believe me, I make more mistakes in one hour of work than most people do in a week. That’s what I get for running off of caffeine. _

Peter had snorted in disbelief.  _ Sure _ , he had said. He sat down on a chair beside Mr. Stark and looked at the display filled with lines of code.  _ What’s the problem? _

_ There’s something wrong with the response time, it’s too long _ , Mr. Stark had replied.

_ Don’t tell me, tell the duck, _ Peter had said.

Mr. Stark had barked a laugh.  _ Want to give it a go? I’ve gotten to line 412. _

_ Uh, sure _ , Peter had said, scooting over so he could read the commands on the display.  _ Alright, um, ‘if light sensor 10 over 40 square bracket then begin motor sequence 14 - oh, you don’t have a closing bracket, here. _

_ Huh, _ Mr. Stark had said.  _ Good work, kiddo. _

_ I didn’t really do much. It was an easy fix. _

_ Well, that’s usually the case. Most problems have easy fixes, you just gotta talk the problem through first before you’re able to see it. _

He doesn’t have a rubber duck he can talk to now, though. And he’s not exactly doing much of the talking.

He sighs, and the conversation comes to a stop. 

“Yes, Peter?” Hill asks.

“Uh,” he says. “Uh, where’s Happy?”

“Running errands,” Pepper says. “Do you have something you want to say?”

“I don’t know,” he says. “I - look, the issue here is that people are seeing me as something that I’m not. We can worry about the whole Spider-man thing later,” he says, forestalling May’s interruption, “right now I’m more concerned with being called a villain whenever I go out in the street.”

Hill leans forward. “Public opinion is divided, actually. Lots of people are supporting you after video analysts have started breaking down Beck’s video of their own accord, and couple that with the fact that there’s no evidence of you having called a drone strike on any civilians, and you’ve got a solid alibi here.”

“But,” Fury says, “many people don’t feel comfortable with the fact that you’re a kid.”

“I’m sixteen,” Peter mumbles.

“That’s what I said.”

Peter clenches his jaw, but doesn’t say anything. 

Fury sighs. “To be honest, I’m not sure how to go about the public opinion. I don’t usually deal with this -“ he makes a wavy gesture with his hand “- social teenager stuff.”

“Maybe leave that to the social teenagers, then,” MJ suggests, not without a touch of sarcasm.

“Uh,” Ned pipes up, “there’s already a hashtag on Twitter? It’s been trending for the last, like, twelve hours. Apparently Flash started it.”

“Flash started a Twitter trend?” Peter exclaims.

Fury looks at Ned, then back towards Peter. “What the hell is a Flash?”

“Kid in our class,” MJ says. 

“Alright,” Fury says, “How does that help us?”

Peter thinks about it.  _ Talk through the problem _ .

“If there’s already a trend, we need to use it somehow,” he begins slowly. “But it can’t be obvious, or else it’s going to look forced.”

“We could talk to Flash and see if he’s willing to help,” Ned suggests.

That’s not a bad idea, actually. “We just can’t make it look like I have anything to hide. That’s suspicious.”

Hill sighs. “We’ll unlock your social media platforms, then” she says.

“My social media was locked?” Peter asks. He hadn’t known about that. He hadn’t known that they could even do that. 

“On the condition that you don’t tweet anything dumb,” Fury warns. 

Peter nods. He’s not stupid.

“And we’ve got the legal angle covered,” Pepper says. “The Bugle isn’t going to get away with airing such an obviously biased and edited video, plus we’re trying to get as many of Beck’s men as we can.”

“Do people know that Beck and his team were all former Stark Industries employees?” Hill asks, turning to face Pepper.

Pepper shakes her head. “That information hasn’t really been relevant, or at least no one’s been looking into it. SI employee records are all public knowledge, so we can legally include that in our press release. Which I actually wanted to go over with you, Peter,” she says, directing her steely blue gaze back on him.

“Uh,” Peter says. “I’m sure what you have is good?”

Pepper smiles. She shakes her head again. “That’s not entirely what I meant. I,” she hesitates. “I wanted to ask you about including some personal information. Stuff about your relationship with Tony specifically.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Hill says. “Anything you can do to humanize Peter and make him relatable will help. Plus it’ll draw on public sympathy.”

“That’s what I was thinking. What do you say, kid?”

“Uh,” Peter says again. He blinks. “I - yeah, okay. I kind of - I - sure, if you think it’ll help.”

“It will,” Pepper says. “Thank you, Peter.”

“Is that going to be enough, though?” May asks the group. She turns to Peter, and continues, “We’re in your corner, here. What do you want us to try and fix?”

“I don’t,” Peter starts, then stops. “I’m just trying to talk through the problem, but nothing is jumping out as an obvious fix. I just want my life back, and I have no idea how I’m gonna get it.”

He feels Fury’s gaze on him as he speaks. “Well, we’ll all try our best.”

“And besides,” Ned says, “even if it’s not a perfect solution, we’ll deal with it together.”

Peter nods. Okay. It’s going to be okay, even if it might not be perfect.

It has to be.

  
  


-

  
  


**Trending Worldwide ・** Change

Spider-Man

Peter Parker

sokovia accords

Stark Industries

  
  


**Statement Regarding Spider-man’s Relationship With Stark Industries**

We, Stark Industries, would like to clarify the rumors surrounding Spider-man’s relationship with Stark Industries, and previous relationship with Tony Stark. Spider-man, whose identity has now been revealed as Peter Parker, 16, has been an official intern here at Stark Industries since August 04, 2017 (discounting the 5-year period of the Blip). This information has been public knowledge, as all Stark Industries employee profiles are accessible through our website. In addition to this, Parker also had a close bond with Tony Stark, initiated by Mr. Stark’s personal recruitment of Parker into our internship program and maintained by the continued working collaboration on projects relating to Spider-man, as well as of a greater scope.

While certain members of Stark Industries, Mr. Stark and Mrs. Potts included, were aware of Parker being Spider-man, specific precautions were followed in order to ensure that this information was not made known to those it did not concern, including the majority of Stark Industries employees as well as the general public. Though we believe in both honesty and transparent here at Stark Industries, we also value the safety and security of our employees and interns, especially those who are not yet of legal majority. Those who knew of Spider-man’s identity were perfectly within their rights to keep this information private, as stated in Section B, Clause 5.1 of the Sokovia Accords (2016, amended 2023). Furthermore, in accordance with Section D, Clause 4.11 of the Sokovia Accords (2023 amendment), we will be assisting Parker and his guardians in seeking legal action against those responsible for revealing Spider-man/Parker’s identity to the rest of the world.

Stark Industries will not be taking any further inquiries into this matter at the current time. We will release a statement regarding Quentin Beck/Mysterio’s prior involvement with Stark Industries shortly. We thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,   
Pepper Potts   
CEO, Stark Industries

  
  


**People** @people  
Spider-man breaks his silence in the wake of his identity reveal in a series of tweets on his personal Twitter account

**peter** @peterbparker   
uh

**peter** @peterbparker   
hey everyone

**peter** @peterbparker   
y’all ever just *spider-man noises*

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> title from doom days by bastille
> 
> if ur name/handle appears in this fic and you would like me to remove/change it, let me know!
> 
> this is the first of a series of post-ffh fics I will be doing, so stay tuned for more.
> 
> I am on twitter @barnesdanvers !! hmu there or kudos/comment if u liked, it is very appreciated :)


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